Winter Exercise and Speleotherapy for Allergy and Asthma: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial
(1) Background: The prevalence of allergic respiratory diseases is still rising and efforts towards holistic treatments should be made. Although speleotherapy is widely applied in Europe to treat chronic airway diseases, the existing scientific evidence is rather low. Recreational winter exercise ha...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-10-01
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| Series: | Journal of Clinical Medicine |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/9/10/3311 |
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| author | Johanna Freidl Daniela Huber Herbert Braunschmid Carina Romodow Christina Pichler Renate Weisböck-Erdheim Michaela Mayr Arnulf Hartl |
| author_facet | Johanna Freidl Daniela Huber Herbert Braunschmid Carina Romodow Christina Pichler Renate Weisböck-Erdheim Michaela Mayr Arnulf Hartl |
| author_sort | Johanna Freidl |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | (1) Background: The prevalence of allergic respiratory diseases is still rising and efforts towards holistic treatments should be made. Although speleotherapy is widely applied in Europe to treat chronic airway diseases, the existing scientific evidence is rather low. Recreational winter exercise has been shown to improve allergic airway inflammation, but little is known about the combined effects of speleotherapy and recreational winter exercise. (2) Methods: In this clinical study we investigated the effects of winter exercise and speleotherapy on adults with allergic rhinitis and/or asthma. The speleotherapy group (n = 23) participated in a ten-day combined winter exercise and speleotherapy program and the exercise group (n = 18) joined a full-day winter sports program. The effects on allergic airway inflammation, quality of life, spirometry and cardiorespiratory fitness were assessed. (3) Results: No significant effects were found for fractional exhaled nitric oxide or nasal nitric oxide. Quality of life (<i>p</i> < 0.001 time effect) and allergic symptoms (<i>p</i> < 0.001 time effect) were improved in the speleotherapy and in the exercise group. (4) Conclusions: Winter exercise alone and winter exercise in combination with speleotherapy improve quality of life and allergic symptoms in adults with allergic rhinitis and/or asthma. Further studies are required to investigate the specific effects of speleotherapy. To our knowledge, this is the first investigation examining speleotherapy in combination with winter exercise. Recreational outdoor winter exercise and speleotherapy may be recommended for highly functioning patients with good disease control. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T15:36:31Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7b68c6888c2b40c19f9019afca1e4703 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-0383 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T15:36:31Z |
| publishDate | 2020-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Clinical Medicine |
| spelling | doaj.art-7b68c6888c2b40c19f9019afca1e47032023-11-20T17:13:34ZengMDPI AGJournal of Clinical Medicine2077-03832020-10-01910331110.3390/jcm9103311Winter Exercise and Speleotherapy for Allergy and Asthma: A Randomized Controlled Clinical TrialJohanna Freidl0Daniela Huber1Herbert Braunschmid2Carina Romodow3Christina Pichler4Renate Weisböck-Erdheim5Michaela Mayr6Arnulf Hartl7Institute of Ecomedicine, Paracelsus Medical University Salzburg, 5020 Salzburg, AustriaInstitute of Ecomedicine, Paracelsus Medical University Salzburg, 5020 Salzburg, AustriaInstitute of Ecomedicine, Paracelsus Medical University Salzburg, 5020 Salzburg, AustriaInstitute of Ecomedicine, Paracelsus Medical University Salzburg, 5020 Salzburg, AustriaInstitute of Ecomedicine, Paracelsus Medical University Salzburg, 5020 Salzburg, AustriaInstitute of Ecomedicine, Paracelsus Medical University Salzburg, 5020 Salzburg, AustriaInstitute of Ecomedicine, Paracelsus Medical University Salzburg, 5020 Salzburg, AustriaInstitute of Ecomedicine, Paracelsus Medical University Salzburg, 5020 Salzburg, Austria(1) Background: The prevalence of allergic respiratory diseases is still rising and efforts towards holistic treatments should be made. Although speleotherapy is widely applied in Europe to treat chronic airway diseases, the existing scientific evidence is rather low. Recreational winter exercise has been shown to improve allergic airway inflammation, but little is known about the combined effects of speleotherapy and recreational winter exercise. (2) Methods: In this clinical study we investigated the effects of winter exercise and speleotherapy on adults with allergic rhinitis and/or asthma. The speleotherapy group (n = 23) participated in a ten-day combined winter exercise and speleotherapy program and the exercise group (n = 18) joined a full-day winter sports program. The effects on allergic airway inflammation, quality of life, spirometry and cardiorespiratory fitness were assessed. (3) Results: No significant effects were found for fractional exhaled nitric oxide or nasal nitric oxide. Quality of life (<i>p</i> < 0.001 time effect) and allergic symptoms (<i>p</i> < 0.001 time effect) were improved in the speleotherapy and in the exercise group. (4) Conclusions: Winter exercise alone and winter exercise in combination with speleotherapy improve quality of life and allergic symptoms in adults with allergic rhinitis and/or asthma. Further studies are required to investigate the specific effects of speleotherapy. To our knowledge, this is the first investigation examining speleotherapy in combination with winter exercise. Recreational outdoor winter exercise and speleotherapy may be recommended for highly functioning patients with good disease control.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/9/10/3311winter exercisespeleotherapyexhaled nitric oxideallergyasthmaallergic rhinitis |
| spellingShingle | Johanna Freidl Daniela Huber Herbert Braunschmid Carina Romodow Christina Pichler Renate Weisböck-Erdheim Michaela Mayr Arnulf Hartl Winter Exercise and Speleotherapy for Allergy and Asthma: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial Journal of Clinical Medicine winter exercise speleotherapy exhaled nitric oxide allergy asthma allergic rhinitis |
| title | Winter Exercise and Speleotherapy for Allergy and Asthma: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial |
| title_full | Winter Exercise and Speleotherapy for Allergy and Asthma: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial |
| title_fullStr | Winter Exercise and Speleotherapy for Allergy and Asthma: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial |
| title_full_unstemmed | Winter Exercise and Speleotherapy for Allergy and Asthma: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial |
| title_short | Winter Exercise and Speleotherapy for Allergy and Asthma: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial |
| title_sort | winter exercise and speleotherapy for allergy and asthma a randomized controlled clinical trial |
| topic | winter exercise speleotherapy exhaled nitric oxide allergy asthma allergic rhinitis |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/9/10/3311 |
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